Machine for printing tickets, tags, cards, and the like



A. R. BNE I MACHINE FOR PRINTING TICKETS, TAGS, CARDS, AND THE LIKE Feb. 10, 1953 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 30, 1948 mam a2 we Feb. 10, 1953 BONE 2,627,804

MACHINE FOR PRINTING TICKETS, TAGS, CARDS, AND THE LIKE Filed Sept. 30, 1948 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 69 F 4 45 j zzafezz'aw 1y 7924x412 Zane Feb. 10, 1953 A. R BONE 2,627,804

MACHINE F OR PRINTING TICKETS, TAGS, CARDS, ,AND THE LIKE Filed Sept. 30, 1948 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 A. R. BONE Feb. 10, 1953 MACHINE FOR PRINTING TICKETS, TAGS, CARDS, AND THE LIKE Filed Sept. 30, 1948 '5 Sheets-Shet 4 A. R. BONE Feb. 10, 1953 MACHINE FOR PRINTING TICKETS, TAGS, CARDS, AND THE LIKE Filed Sept. 50, 1948 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 [menialrvzah 1830721 6 vfiw-vw Patented Feb. 10, 1953 MACHINE FOR PRINTING TICKETS, TAGS,

CARDS, AND THE LIKE Arnold R. Bone, Needham, Mass, assignor to Dennison Manufacturing Company, Framingham, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application September 30, 1948, Serial No. 52,086

8 Claims. 1

This invention relates to printing machines of the type disclosed in United States Patents 1,980,576 and 2,007,526 which are characterized by means for feeding price tags or other cards along a predetermined path, a hopper disposed at one location along the path for supplying the cards, a receiver at another location farther along the path in which the cards are again stacked,

the receiver, and generally to improve printing machines of the type disclosed in the aforesaid patents.

In one aspect the present invention comprises the combination of a hopper for holding cards in a stack, the lower end of the hopper being open, a support for the stack at the open end;

the hopper having a guide surface bearing against the leading edges of the cards and an outlet at the lower end of the guide surface, and means for successively sliding cards from the bottom of the stack through the aforesaid opening, the guide surface being inclined to the support so that the lowermost card cams off the lower end of the surface into the opening when the sliding means pushes the forward end of the card against the surface.

In another aspect the invention involves the combination of a receiver open at one end and having the open end presented to the path of the cards with the cards extending crosswise of the receiver, together with means disposed on the side of the path opposite the receiver for pushing the cards successively through the open end when they reach a position opposite the open end, thereby to stack the cards in the receiver. Preferably the open end of the receiver is the lower end and the Stacking means is disposed below the path of the cards. In the preferred embodiment the card track is on a support which rocks back and forth to and from printing position and the stacking means pushes the cards into the receiver in response to this rocking movement.

For the purpose of illustration a typical embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawing in which Fig. 1 is a side elevation with the mechanism in the idle position it occupies at the end of a cycle of operations;

Fig. 2 is a section on line 22 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a section on line 3-3 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a top View looking in the direction of the arrows 4 in Fig. 1, parts being omitted; Fig. 5 is a section on line 5-5 of Fig. 4; Fig. 6 is an enlarged section on line 55 of Fig. 4. with the feeder disconnected for manual operation;

Fig. 7 is an end view looking in the direction of the arrows 1 in Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a section on line 88 of Fig. 6; Fig. 9 is a section on line 99 of Fig. 8; Fig. 10 is a section like Fig. 6 showing the feeder reconnected and the parts in automatic stopping position when the hopper becomes empty;

Fig. 11 is an enlarged detail section corresponding to Fig. 10; y

Fig. 12 is a similar detail section showing the feeder in the position it occupies when it starts to slide the lowermost card out of the hopper; Fig. 13 is an enlarged section corresponding to Fig. 5 showing the rocker frame swung down to printing position and the feeder fully retracted;

and

Fig. 14 is a section on line l4-I4 of Fig. 13. The particular embodiment of the invention chosen for the purpose of illustration comprises a frame I upon which an elongate'rocker 2 is pivotally mounted by means of a pin 3 extending through bosses 4 on the bottom of the rocker frame to rock back and forth between the idle positions shown in Figs. 1 and 5 to the printing and stacking positions shown in Fig. 13. Ex-

- tending lengthwise of the rocker frame 2 on the upper side thereof is a track for the cards C to be printed, and distributed along the track are a hopper 6 from which cards are fed to the track, a printing station 1 where the cards are printed while in the track, and a receiver 8 in which the cards are again stacked after they have been printed. Located under the platen at the printing station is a series of rings 9 carrying printing indicia on their outer peripheries, the rings being rotatable individually about their common axis to bring different indicia into printing relation wtih the platen as fully described in the aforesaid patents. At one side of the rings 9 is an auxiliary printer In for printing dates or the like. In its travel along the track on the rocker frame each card has three positions, the

first position being at the bottom of the hopper 6, the last position being at the bottom of the receiver 8 and the other position being intermediate the aforesaid positions (Fig. 13). When the rocker frame rocks to the printing position shown in Fig. 13 the platen 'l presses the lower side of the card against the printing characters on the peripheries of the rings 9.

The means for feeding the cards along the track comprises a block H having a dovetail tongue 12 secured in a recess in its lower side, .the tongue sliding in a gib as shown in Fig. 7. Feed fingers 13 are pivotally mounted by means of pins 14 in slots in the bottom of the, block ,H with springs Hi to depress the rearward ends of the fingers and thereby lift their forward ends. Hardened inserts H are mounted in the upper edges/of the fingers near their forward ends to provide shouls ders for sliding the lowermost card from the bottom ,ofthe stackin the hopper.(Figs. 6, 11 and 12).

The mechanism for reciprocating the feeder back and forth comprises an arm 18 depending iromithe block ll through a slot i9 in the rocker "frame 2 (Figs. 5, 6 and 10). The lower end of the arm is. connected to the motor 21 (Fig. 1) throughan arm 22, link 23, arm 24, rocker arm .26, cam 27, worm wheel 28 and worm 29. The arm 22 and link 23 are connected to the arm I8 by means of a pin 3! which extends through a slot in the link 23. The arm 22 has 2. lug 33 :whichfitsinto the recess 34 in the end of link 23 'whenthe'pin 3| is at the forward end of the slot 32, a coil spring 36 being provided to hold'the lug in the recess (Figs. and When it is desired to retract the feeder while the machine is in the idle position shown in Figs.'1 and 2. the free end of the arm 22 is lifted to disengage the lug 33 from the recess 34 whereupon the feeder may be moved by hand to the retracted position shown in Fig. 6. The arm 26 is pivoted on the "'frameat 31 and the arm 24 is pivoted to arm 26 at 38. A spring 39 normally holds the arm 24 against the upper end of the arm 26 in the position shown in'Figs. 1 and 5. However when the "shoulders 11- of the feed fingers strike the shoulders 0 the hopper followerv 25, as shown in Figs. 10:- and 11, the arm 24 is swung to the position 'shown-inFig. 6 against the action of the spring 39 thereby to cause the lower end of the arm 24 to engage pin 41 of a clutch control 40 (Figs. 1 :and 10) thereby to stop the machine when the hopperbecomes empty.

The rocker frame 2' isrockedback and forth 1 by means of arms 42: (Figs; 1 and 5) and a link Ali-connected to the arm 26. The: upper endsof the; arms 42 have upwardly -facing shoulders on opposite: sides of the pivot pin 3 to engageadjusting screws on the rocker frame; whereby the rocker frame may be angularlyadjusted relatively to the main frame so that the cards are pressed. against the printing type with the proper -.pressure.

Extending upwardly, and forwardly at the optpositesidesof the rocker frame are arms 46 which are integrally interconnected at their forward ends by a crosspiece 41 (Figs. 13 and 14). Mounted on the bottom: of the crosspiece 41 is the platen 48' having a resilient insert 5%. Mounted on the top of the crosspiece' i'i is a bracket 5| having at its opposite ends arms 52 extending rearwardly and downwardly and arms 53 extending forwardly and downwardly for supporting various parts of the hopper and receiver.

The hopper comprises sides 53 with rear inaturned flanges.- 54, the .sides extending forwardly to the crosspiece 41 and overlapping the outer faces of the arms 52 (Fig. 2) where they are se cured by means of screws 56 (Fig. 1). The forward side of the hopper comprises two upstanding strips 51. Extending forwardly from the lower faces of each of the strips 5'! is a gib 58 which is held in a slot in the rear face of arm 52 by means of a spring-pressed plunger 59 and a screw 6i (Fig. 3). The lower ends of the strips 51 are spaced from the bottom of the card track to provide an. opening through which the lowermost cardin the hopper may be slid. By adjusting the screws Bl the vertical dimension of the open- .ing may be adjusted to accommodate cards of different: thicknesses. Mounted on the rocker frame 2 at the bottom of the hopper is a plate vt2 :for supporting .the cards in the hopper, the platevhaving grooves 63 to receive the feed fingers I3 (Figs. 2, 4, 6 and 8).. The angle between the strips 51 and the plate 62 is less than 90 so that the front edge of the lowermost card cams on the strips into the opening if, due to warpage or any other cause, the card is pushed against the strips 5'! instead of passing freely through the opening. After a card has been pushed fromthe hopper to the intermediate printing station it is sup-ported near the edges of the track by means of two fingers 85 disposed in slots 66 in the bottom of the plate 62 and held in place by pins 6'! and springs 68 (Figs. 9 and 14). The edges of the cards are also supported by angle members .69 which extend from thehopper past the printing station and across the receiver, the upstanding flanges being secured to the opposite sides of the bracket 51 and the inturned flanges underlying the edges of the cards. In the region of the printing station theinturned flanges of the angle members 69 are cut away to accommodate the printer (Figs. 1, 13 and 14).

The receiver. 8 comprises. sides H overlapping the outer sides of the arms 53 and secured thereto, the front ends of the side walls being turned in to form flanges 72 (Fig. 4). At the rear side of the receiver the cards are held in alignment by two strips 73 mounted on. the .frontv faces of the-arms 53. Disposed on the rear side of the strips 13 are two pairs of spring hooks or fingers I4 and .75, the upper ends of the spring hooks being secured to. the back of the strips and the lower hooked ends extending-through notches in the bottom of the strips into the receiver. Fast to the forward sides of the. flanges F2 are blocks Tl having recesses on their rearward sides. Two more pairs of spring hooks or fingers l8 and 79 have their upper ends secured between the upper ends .oflthe blocks 77 andtheflanges 12 with their lower hooked ends projecting through. notches v in the bottoms of the flanges 12 into the receiver.

When a cardis pressed upwardly into the receiver the spring hooks are pressed out of the way by the edges of the card and after a card has passed the hooks they snap back under the edges of the card to support it. The cards are pushed into the receiver by a stationary pusher 8| which is mounted on the frame I at 82, the pusher having a cut-out portion 83 to accommodate the thumb and finger in lifting cards out of the receiver.

To operate the machine the desired number of cards are placed in the hopper 6 and the follower 25 is placed on top of the stack. If it is desired to print a number of cards less than the number in the hopper the counting mechanism 84 is set to stop the machine at the end of the desired number. However if all of the cards in the hopper are to be printed the counting mechanism may be set at any number which is at least as large as the number of cards in the hopper. To advance the bottom card to printing position the feeder II is unhooked at 3334, moved back to the position shown in Fig. 6 and then returned to the position shown in Fig. 5, after which the feeder is again engaged with the actuating mechanism. A the feeder moves from the retracted position shown in Fig. 6 to the advanced position shown in Fig.

the bottom card is advanced to printing position. .To start the machine the motor switch is closed and the clutch 40 is closed by moving it to the left (Figs. 1 and until the pin 4| contacts the nose of arm 24 which is then in the position shown in Figs. 1 and 5 and not in the position shown in Figs. 6 and 10. The machine then continues to operate until the desired number of cards have been printed or until the hopper becomes empty. When the hopper is empty the shoulders H on the feed fingers engage the shoulder on the follower, thereby stopping the machine as above described.

The cycle of operations in printing each card is as follows: When the machine is started the rocker frame immediately descends to printing position, a card having been moved under the platen by hand as above described. While the rocker frame is descending the feeder fingers [3 are retracting and while the rocker frame is rising the feeder is advancing. Thus while the rocker frame rises another card is pushed from the bottom of the stack in the hopper, the second card pushing the first card from printing position to a position under the receiver. This completes the first cycle and succeeding cycles are the same except that in the second and succeeding cycles the card under the receiver is pushed into the receiver by the pusher 8! as the rocker frame descends. The pusher BI is adjusted to push each card past the four lower spring hooks or fingers l6 and 19 but not past the upper spring hooks or fingers 14 and 18, the latter serving to prevent the cards from snapping out of position as they pass the lower spring hooks. After several cards are stacked on the lower hooks the stack begins to rise above the level of the upper hooks but by this time the weight of the cards is suflicient to prevent the entering card from snapping out of place. It is apparent that as the card stack rises past the upper hooks or fingers these hooks will be held in retracted position by the stack and hence will not cause a card passing thereby to snap out of position.

It should be understood that the present disclosure is for the purpose of illustration only and that this invention includes all modifications and equivalents which fall within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a machine for printing a series of cards the combination of a printing element, a cooperative moving platen, drive means for moving the platen relatively to the element to press a card therebetween, feed means operable by card therebetween, feed means operable by the drive means for feeding the cards to a printing position and thence to a delivery position, a bottomless receiver above said delivery position fixed relatively to the platen and having upwardly directed parallel guide surfaces disposed. to bear against the edges of the cards stacked therebetween, and a member fixed relatively to said element and movable through the delivery position for urging a card from said delivery position into the receiver.

3. In a machine for printing a series of cards the combination of a printing element, a cooperative moving platen, drive means for moving the platen relatively tothe element to press a card therebetween, feed means operable by'the drive means for feeding the cards to a printing position and thence to a delivery position which is fixed relatively to the platen, a receiver for the cards at said delivery position, the receiver being fixed relatively to the platen, and a member fixed relatively to said element adjacent the delivery position for urging a card from the delivery position into the receiver.

4. In a machine for printing a series of cards the combination of a printing element, a cooperative moving platen, drive means for moving the platen relatively to the element to press a card therebetween, feed means operable by the drive means for feeding the cards to a printing position and thence to a delivery position, a. receiver for the cards at said delivery position, the receiver being fixed relatively to the platen, and a member fixed relatively to said element adjacent the delivery position for urging a card from the delivery position into the receiver, and supporting elements yielding to the passage of a card into the receiver and supporting the card therein.

5. In a machine for performing an operation on a series of records, the combination of a pair of cooperative elements for performing said operation, one of said elements being movable into operative relation with the other element, drive means for moving said one element to perform said operation, feed means operable to advance a record to an operation position between said element and thence to a delivery position, a receiver for individual records fixed relatively to said one element and movable therewith, and a member adjacent said delivery position fixed relatively to the other element and disposed to enter said receiver thereby to urge a record at the delivery position into the receiver when said elements are brought into operative relation.

6. In a machine for printing on a series of records, the combination of a pair of cooperative printing elements for performing said operation, one of said elements being movable into printing relation with the other element, drive mean for moving said one element to print on a record, feed means operable to advance a record to a printing position between said elements and thence to a delivery position, a receiver for individ-ual-reeords fixed relativelytoasaid one element and movable therewith, and a member adjacent. saidfielivery :position fixed relatively to the'other' eleme'ntanddisposed to enter said receiverthereby to urge a record. at the delivery position into the receiver when said elements are broughtinto printing relation.

7..- In a machine for performing an operation ona series of records, the combination of a first support and a second support movable relatively thereto, a pair of cooperative elements for performing said operation, one of said elements being fixed relative to said first support and the other being fixed relative to said second support and movable therewith into cooperative relation with the first said-element, drive means for moving said second. support-to perform said operation, feed means. operable to advance a record .to an operation position between. said elements and thence. to a delivery position a receiver for individual. records fixed relatively to said second support and movable therewith, and a member fixed relatively to the first support adjacent said delivery position and disposed to enter said re- .ceiver thereby to urge a card at the delivery position into the receiver.

- 8. For stacking a series of cards the combination of feeding means for conveying the cards consecutively along a predetermined path, a bottomless receiver above said path, a lifting member relatively movable through said path and to .a limit position into the lower end of the receiver fonurging each card successively into the. receiver, and upper and lowersupporting fingers extending into the receiver at different levels to allow yielding passage of cards thereby, the lower set of fingers being disposed below the limit position of the lifting member to support each card as it enters the receiver, and the upper fingers being disposed above the limit position of the lifting member, whereby when the first card is urged into the receiver it' is prevented by the upper set of fingers from snapping out of position on said lower set of fingers, the upper fingers being urged to retracted position as the stack of cards rises thereby.

ARNOLD RLBONE.

. REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITEDv STATES PATENTS Number Name 'Date 563,627 Stevens July 7, 1896 1,644,695 Sieg Get. 11, 1927 1,737,721 Johnson Dec. 3, 1929 1,816,721 Curotto July 28, 1931 1,940,487 Campbell Dec. 19, 1933 1,980,576 Flood Nov. 13, 1934 2,121,864 Flood June 28, 1938 2,331,251 Van Tuyl Oct. 5, 1943 2,444,544 Thomas July 6, 1948 

